Sheriff, Secret Service warn of counterfeit $100s

by Wes Mayer

Coweta County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Secret Service officials are warning area businesses to be on the lookout for counterfeit $100 bills.

According to the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office, a number of counterfeit $100 bills with distinct features have been circulating the metro Atlanta area. On Jan. 10, five of these bills were passed at a local business and have been recovered by Coweta investigators, said Investigator Chad McDonald with the sheriff’s office.

“These counterfeit bills are of good quality, as they can beat a counterfeit detector marker, and they have a security thread and a watermark,” McDonald said.

According to McDonald, there are three marks on these counterfeit bills which give them away. First, the bills’ “100” on the bottom right corner of the front will not have optically variable ink — or color shifting ink. On a genuine $100 bill, the ink on the bottom right “100” will shift from black to green as the bill is tilted, McDonald said.

Second, the counterfeit bills all have the number “77” printed above the bottom right “100” on the back of the bills — this number represents the plate used to print the bills, and the “77” is much bolder than the numbers printed on genuine bills, McDonald said.

Third, the counterfeit bills use six different serial numbers found on the front of the bill, McDonald said. These numbers all begin with either DB016240, DB124240, DJ863653, DJ663653, FL993241, or FL333241. These numbers are found near the top left and right center of the bills’ front.

According to McDonald, the offenders are often using these fake bills to purchase pre-paid debit cards, so business owners should pay extra attention during those transactions.

Anyone with questions or information on an offender attempting to use these counterfeit bills may contact Investigator McDonald at the sheriff’s office at 770-253-1502 or the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Officer at 404-331-6111.